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Montreat College

the official website of the montreat college cavaliers
NAIA CoC Five-Star Gold Institution 7-29-26

General Christian Zylstra

Cavaliers achieve perfect score as Champions of Character® Five-Star Institution

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its 2025-26 Champions of Character® Five-Star Award winners late Wednesday morning. For the ninth consecutive academic year, Montreat College earned Five-Star Institution recognition, and for the fourth time in athletics department history, the Cavaliers achieved a perfect score of 100 to reach gold level status.
 
In total, 203 member institutions were named Champions of Character® Five-Star Award winners for the 2025-26 academic year. Montreat, along with 119 other institutions, delivered perfect scores to land gold tier acclaim. Additionally, nine other Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) members joined the Cavs in notching perfect scores. Overall, 135 NAIA institutions received gold honors.
 
The Champions of Character® Core Report annually measures each institution's commitment to the NAIA's Champions of Character® program. Schools earn up to 100 combined points across several categories, including character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Institutions also tally points based on exceptional student-athlete GPAs and by having minimal to no ejections during competition throughout the course of the academic year. All institutions scoring 60 or more total points garner the Champions of Character® Five-Star Institution moniker.
 
Montreat also played a role in making the AAC a 2025-26 Champions of Character® Five-Star Conference. To be selected as a Five-Star Conference, a league must have an established Champions of Character® Conference Committee and a conduct in competition oversight committee comprised of at least three members. Also, at least 60.0 percent of a conference's full-time member institutions must earn the Champions of Character® Five-Star Award. Fourteen of the AAC's full-time members captured Champions of Character® Five-Star Institution recognition in 2025-26.
 
For a complete look at the 2025-26 NAIA Champions of Character® Five-Star Institutions, click here.
 
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